Small manufactured pieces, such as circuit boards, have been traditionally cut to specification from larger manufactured panels of the desired base material. Obviously, the greater the number of panels that may be cut into identical boards or pieces at one time the lesser the total time involved both in set up and in manufacturing and thus a reduction in the cost per unit results.
In the past, a plurality of panels have been stacked upon a supporting fixture and then, using a template or other device to determine the location and shape of the resultant boards, sufficient pins were driven through the panels such that when the panels were cut there would be two pins in each stack of resulting boards. The securement pins thus assured that the boards would be accurately cut, would remain stacked and would be relatively easily removed as a unit. Obviously, the cutting, once the panels and resultant boards were laboriously secured by the pins, could be accomplished by a numerical control machine if such were desired.
It becomes apparent that although this heretofore utilized method of cutting a multiple of small items such as circuit boards from larger panels does permit the utilization of automatic machines to simultaneously cut a stack of the panels, the setup time was necessarily slow and meticulous work.